Mr Basil Thomson (who after Baker's deportation had carried out reforms which the natives, when left alone, were incapable of maintaining) was sent in 1900 to conclude the treaty by which the king placed his kingdom under British protection.
See Captain Cook's Voyages and other early narratives; Martin, Mariner's account of the Tonga Islands (Edinburgh, 1827); Vason, Four Years in Tongatabu (London, 1815); A. Monfort, Les Tonga, ou Archipel des Amis (Lyons, 1893); B. H. Thomson, The Diversions of a Prime Minister (London, 1894).
TONGKING,[1] a province of French Indo-China, and protectorate of France, situated between 20° and 23½° N. and 102° and 108½° E., and bounded N. by the Chinese provinces of Kwang-Tung, Kwang-Si and Yun-nan, W. by Laos, S. by Annam, and E. by the Gulf of Tongking. Area, about 46,000 sq. m. The population is estimated at 6,000,000, including 33,000 Chinese and about 4000 Europeans. Geographically, Tongking comprises three regions: (1) the delta of the Song-Koi (Red river), which, beginning at Son-Tay and coalescing with the delta of the Thai-Binh, widens out into the low-lying and fertile plain within which are situated the principal cities. (2) Two mountainous tracts, to the north and west of the delta, running approximately from north-west to south-east, one separating the basins of the Song-Koi and the Canton river, the other those of the Song-Koi and the Mekong. (3) A region of plateaus and low hills forming a transition between the delta and the mountains. The main geographical feature in the country is the Song-Koi, which, taking its rise near Tali Fu, in Yun-nan, enters Tongking at Lao-Kay (the Lao boundary), and flows thence in a south-easterly direction to the Gulf of Tongking. It was this river which mainly, in the first instance, attracted the French to Tongking, as it was believed by the explorers that, forming the shortest route by water to the rich province of Yun-nan, it would prove also to be the most convenient and expeditious means of transporting the tin, copper, silver and gold which are known to abound there. This belief, however, has proved fallacious. The upper course of the stream is constantly impeded by rapids, the lowest being about thirty miles above Hung-Hoa. Beyond Lao-Kay navigation is impracticable during the dry season, and at all other times of the year goods have to be there transferred into light junks. Below Lao-Kay larger junks, and in the summer months steam launches of shallow draught use the river. Within the limits of Yun-nan the navigation is still more difficult. Near Son-Tay the Song-Koi receives the waters of the Song-Bo (Black river) and the Song-Ka (Clear river), parallel affluents rising in Yun-nan, and from that point divides into a network of waterways which empty themselves by countless outlets into the sea. The Song-Cau rises in north-eastern Tongking and below the town of Sept Pagodes, where it is joined by the Song-Thuong to form the Thai-Binh, divides into numerous branches, communicating with the Song-Koi by the Canal des Rapides and the Canal des Bambous.
The coast line of Tongking from Mon-Kay on the Chinese frontier to Thanh-Hoa, near that of Annam, has a length of 375 m. From Mon-Kay as far as the estuary of the Song-Koi it is broken, rugged and fringed with islands and rocky islets. The bay of Tien-Hien, to the south of which lies the island of Ke-Bao, and the picturesque bay of Along, are the chief indentations. Beyond the island of Cac-Ba, south of the Bay of Along, the coast is low, flat and marshy, and tends to advance as the alluvial deposits of the delta accumulate.
The climate of Tongking is less trying to Europeans than that of the rest of French Indo-China. During June, July and August, the temperature ranges between 82° and 100° F., but from October to May the weather is cool. The country is subject to typhoons in August and September.
In the wooded regions of the mountains the tiger, elephant and panther are found, and wild buffalo, deer and monkeys are common. The delta is the home of ducks and many other varieties of aquatic birds. Tea, cardamom, and mulberry grow wild, and in general the flora approximate to that of southern China.
The Annamese (see Annam), who form the bulk of the population of Tongking, are of a somewhat better physique than those of the rest of Indo-China. Savage tribes inhabit the northern districts—the Muongs the mountains bordering the Black river, the Thôs the regions bordering the Clear river and the Thai-Binh. The Muongs are bigger and stronger than the Annamese. They have square foreheads, large faces and prominent cheek-bones, and their eyes are often almost straight.
Rice, which in some places furnishes two crops annually, is incomparably the most important product of the delta. Elsewhere there are plantations of coffee, tobacco, ramie, paper-tree (Daphne odora), cotton, jute, sugar-cane, pepper and mulberry. The cultivation of silkworms is of growing importance.
Gold, copper, tin, lead and other metals are found in the higher regions of Tongking, but only gold and tin are exploited, and these only to a very limited extent. There is a large output of coal of inferior quality from Hon-Gay on the bay of Along and there are coal-workings on the island of Ke-Bao.
Hanoi, Hai-phong and Nam-Dinh carry on cotton-spinning, and Hanoi and Nam-Dinh are well known for the manufacture of carved and inlaid furniture. The natives are skilful at enamelling and the chasing and ornamentation of gold and other metals. The manufacture of paper from the fibrous bark of the paper-tree is a widespread industry and there are numerous distilleries of rice-spirit.
The imports of Tongking, which in 1905 reached a value of £3,501,422, comprise railway material, cereals, flour, liquors, woven goods, petroleum, glassware, paper, prepared skins, clocks and watches, arms and ammunition, &c. Exports (valued at £1,393,674 in 1905) comprise rice, rubber, manila hemp, ramie, lacquer and badian oils, raw skins, silk-waste, coal, Chinese drugs, rattan, mats, gamboge.
The transit trade via Tongking between Hong-Kong and the province of Yun-nan in southern China is of considerable importance, reaching in 1905 a value of £1,146,000. This trade is entirely in the hands of Chinese houses, the tin of the Yun-nan mines and cotton yarns from Hong-Kong constituting its most important elements. Goods in transit enjoy a rebate of 80% of the customs duties. Goods are carried on the Song-Koi to Lao-Kay or Man-Hao, thence on mules. The waterways of the delta are lined with embankments, the causeways along which form the chief means of land communication of the region. (For railways, see Indo-China, French.)
The protectorate of Tongking approaches nearer to direct administration than that of Annam, where the conditions of the protectorate are more closely observed. Till 1897 the emperor of Annam was represented in Tongking by a viceroy (kinh-luoc), but now the native officials are appointed by and are directly under the control of the resident-superior, who resides at Hanoi, presides over the protectorate council, and is the chief territorial representative of France. Tongking is divided into nineteen provinces, in each of which there is a resident or a vice-resident, and four military territories, the latter administered by commandants. In each province there is a council of native “notables,” elected by natives and occupied with the discussion of the provincial budget and public works. There is also a deliberative council of natives (instituted 1907) for the whole of Tongking. The provincial administration, local government and educational system are analogous to those of Annam (q. v.). Two chambers of the court of appeal of Indo-China and a criminal court sit at Hanoi; there are tribunals of first instance and tribunals of commerce at Hanoi and Hai-Phong. When both parties to a suit are Annamese, it comes within the jurisdiction of the An-Sat or native judge of the province.
The following is a summary of the budgets of 1899 and 1904:—
| Receipts. | Expenditure. | |
| £ | £ | |
| 1899 | 461,235 | 427,993 |
| 1904 | 756,648 | 494,034 |
The chief source of revenue is the direct taxes (including especially the poll-tax and land-tax), which amounted in 1904 to £417,723, while the chief items of expenditure are the cost of the residencies and general staff, public works and the civil guard.
For the early history of Tongking, see Annam and Indo-China, French. Tongking was loosely united to Annam until 1801, when Gia-long, king of Annam, brought it definitely under his sway. Having, by the treaty of 1862 and the annexation of Cochin China, firmly established themselves in Annamese territory, the French began to turn their attention to Tongking, attracted by the reported richness of its mineral wealth. They found a pretext for interfering in its affairs in the disturbances arising from the invasion of its northern provinces by the disbanded followers of the Taiping rebels. The Franco-German War of 1870-71 put an end to the project for a time, but the return of peace in Europe was the signal for the renewal of hostilities in the East. The appearance of Garnier's work on his expedition up the Mekong again aroused an interest in Tongking,
- ↑ See also Indo-China, French, and Annam.
